DEFENDING women’s champion Adamson claimed the outright championship berth after reigning MVP Angela Benting and Pau Soriano crushed Far Eastern University’s Shaira Gonzalez and Shedd dela Peña, 21-7, 21-11, at the end of the UAAP beach volleyball eliminations Saturday at the UE Caloocan sand court.
The Lady Falcons, seeking a second consecutive crown, swept all their seven games in the elims.
Judy Ann Caballejo and Sarah Jane Gonzales of University of Santo Tomas, meanwhile, nipped La Salle’s Charleen Cruz and Amanda Villanueva, 27-25, 21-18.
The Tigresses and Lady Tamaraws shared second place with identical 5-2 records.
But FEU took the No. 2 seed in the stepladder semifinals as the Morayta-based spikers beat UST in the elimination round.
The Tigresses settled for the third seed, as they will meet the fourth-ranked Lady Archers again in the first stepladder match on Saturday, with the winner facing the Tamaraws in another knockout duel to determine the second finalist.
La Salle went down to 3-4 and tie University of the East, a 21-19, 21-10 winner over University of the Philippines, in fourth place.
Despite the victory, the Lady Warriors bowed out of contention as they were beaten by the Lady Archers in elims.
In the other women’s match, Ateneo’s Asia Urquico and Sharah So defeated Mervic Mangui and Jen Reyes of National University, 21-15, 19-21, 15-7, to wound up in sixth place with a 2-5 mark.
The Lady Maroons also have a 2-5 record but lost to the Lady Eagles in the tiebreaker and finished seventh, while the Lady Bulldogs bring up the rear with a 1-6 slate.
The one-game championship will also be held on Saturday. (TJ)
